• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

City Workers Rock the Neighborhood

June 24, 2014 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

The Street Guys
The Street Guys

By the time they showed up, most everyone in the neighborhood had given up on the streets. They were cracked down to the dirt. Cars and trucks routinely turned over asphalt clods, which then became part of the general rubble.

Then the water guys came. They replaced the water pipes, which some said were going on seventy years old. No one was surprised—the city has a long history of overlooking its quaint little neighborhoods when the houses are small and off the beaten path.

The water guys dug. They filled the narrow streets with piles of dirt, using everything from backhoes to hand shovels. Despite the June heat and tight quarters, they worked fast and they worked clean and courteous.

They also dealt the final blow to the streets. After all the digging, the streets were almost impassable. But that was good, because hard on the heels of the water guys came the street guys.

The street guys ripped up what was left of the old asphalt and laid down new. Like the water guys, they were fast, clean, and unfailingly polite. In what still seems like a mere flash in time, the little neighborhood had new pipes and new streets.

It’s the custom these days to knock public employees. According to the conventional wisdom, they’re overpaid and underworked. Not so with these guys. These Modesto city workers started when they said they would and finished when they said they would. They worked fast and they worked clean.

Watching them in action made some observers wish Modesto voters had been wise enough to approve the one cent sales tax on last year’s ballot. With a little backing, these public employees could go a long way toward restoring our crumbling infrastructure citywide. Let’s hope voters will give them another chance; Modesto city workers rock.

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Modesto city workers, Modesto one cent sales tax

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. S. Hansen says

    June 24, 2014 at 8:53 pm

    The issue with the 1% sales tax failure was not about the water guys or the street guys, the real issue was poor and working class folks did not want taxes raised off their backs for an abusive police force (with many officers already making well over 100k compaired to the average single working folks who make around 15k or 40k as a couple.) The other issue was no one trusted how the money would have “really” been spent since there was no “lock box” as falsely stated by Modesto’s former Police Chief Mike Harden.

    Reply
    • Emerson Drake says

      June 25, 2014 at 8:32 pm

      I agree S. Hansen, Modesto’s former Police Chief Mike Harden lied and the sales tax died.

      Reply
  2. Eric Caine says

    June 25, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    I haven’t seen any data on how many “poor and working class folks” voted, but there’s no reason to believe they were any more a factor in this election than in previous elections. Poor and working class folks seldom turn out.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com
As California?s climate heats up, Valley fever spikes ? especially on Central Coast
As California’s climate heats up, Valley fever spikes, especially on Central Coast
Because the fungus that causes the disease spreads easily in hot, arid conditions, the number of cases will grow, UC Berkeley study says
www.mercurynews.com
Activists sue to block Newsom's homeless mental illness treatment program
Activists sue to block Newsom’s homeless mental illness treatment program
Gov. Gavin Newsom championed compelled mental health treatment for homeless Californians. Now, activists are trying to stop it before it gets off the ground.
sjvsun.com
The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right
The Rise of Spirit Warriors on the Christian Right
How an extreme transformation in American religion poses an existential threat to our democracy
newrepublic.com
Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Gimme Shelter: Mayor Karen Bass on homelessness and the California housing crisis
Liam Dillon and Ben Oreskes of the L.A. Times interview Mayor Karen Bass about homelessness and housing problems in California.
calmatters.org
A Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
A Water War Is Brewing Over the Dwindling Colorado River
This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative…
talkingpointsmemo.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
ACLU sues Phoenix over homeless sweeps, citations
ACLU sues Phoenix over homeless sweeps, citations
The ACLU of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the city of Phoenix over cleanup sweeps of homeless encampments.
www.azcentral.com
'Full-on crisis': Groundwater in California's Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate
‘Full-on crisis’: Groundwater in California’s Central Valley disappearing at alarming rate
Excessive groundwater pumping has long been depleting aquifers in California’s Central Valley. Now, scientists say the depletion is accelerating.
www.latimes.com
San Francisco?s homeless sweeps are unlawful ? and the city will pay for it
San Francisco’s homeless sweeps are unlawful and the city will pay for it
San Francisco’s campaign to remove homeless people from the streets clearly violates…
www.sfchronicle.com
A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.'s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here's why
A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.’s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here’s why
The Cecil Hotel was supposed to be an innovative new model for permanent supportive housing in L.A. Why is it struggling to fill rooms?
news.yahoo.com
Fentanyl on campus: One Bay Area school saved a student?s life. Another missed the signs of an overdose. Is your school ready?
Fentanyl on campus: One Bay Area school saved a student’s life. Another missed the signs of an overdose. Is your school ready?
Suddenly, Bay Area schools are playing a critical role in combating the alarming rise of fentanyl that is spilling onto high school campuses. But a Bay Area News Group survey found most may not be….
www.mercurynews.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design